Adjustable circular strike



July 16, 1968 A,1-QRNQE ET AL 3,392,998

ADJUSTABLE CIRCULAR STRIKE Filed Nov. 9, 1966 1 I I3- E INVENTORS JOl/N 'A. TOM/0E AW KT A. MAM/70 4% W 3,392,998 P rated 1 l 3,392,998 p j. ADJUSTABLE CIRCULAR STRIKE John T. Tornoe and Robert A. Marotto, Redwood City, Calif., assignors to Schlage Lock Company, a corporation i =Filed Nov. 9, 1966, Ser. No. 593,048

= Claims. (Cl. 292---341.18)

' ABSTRACT OF-THE DISCLOSURE A Circular strokeformed with a peripheral stiffening flange which is apertured to receive securing screws and to permit limited rotation of the plate about its central axis for adjustment of the position of the latch bolt engaging surface. An adjustable latch bolt engaging lip is provided as an integral part of the strike.

-- This invention relates to strikes for door locks and more particularly to a strike having a substantially circular form and similar to the strike shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,159,416.

The strike of the cited patent lends itself to inexpensive installation inasmuch as it is merely necessary to bore a round opening in the door jamb in order to install the strike. Furthermore, the cited strike has the advantage of providing optimum resistance to its being pulled or torn out of the door jamb by the rebound force resulting from slamming the door. This advantage accrues from the fact that the strike is provided with a peripherally extending flange which not only enhances the strength of the strike body but also cooperates with the side walls of the bored opening and provides a relatively great resistance to removal.

Although the above noted advantages and others .have made the strike shown in the cited patent an extremely popular one, in some instances it has been found that, because of the method of securement of the strike it has 'not provided sufficient resistance to certain loads that may be impressed upon it tending to swing the outer edge of the strike away from the plane of the jamb.

The main object of the present invention is to generally improve the resistance of the subject type of strike to loosening or removal from the door jamb under any of the various types of forces that may be impressed upon it.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved strike which provides adjustability for preventing rattling of the door when the latter is closed. This general type of adjustable strike includes a tongue extending along the side of the latch bolt aperture for engaging the face of the cooperating latch bolt. By bending said tongue by means of a tool such as a screw driver it is possible to adjust the clearance between the cooperating face of the latch bolt and the tongue on the strike. Examples of this type of adjustable strike are shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,007,732 and U.S. Patent No. 3,287,055. By the present invention an improved adjustable tongue structure is provided which facilitates the adjusting step required to prevent rattling of the closed door.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded fragmentary perspective showing one form of the strike in cooperation with the door jamb in which it is installed.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of a door jamb showing the strike installed.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section of the door jamb structure and strike as taken in a plane indicated by lines 3-3 of FIG. 2 and showing the door and cooperating latch bolt in dot dash lines.

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken in a plane indicated bylines44ofFIG..2, H FIG. 5 is a perspective of a modified form of strike. FIG. 6 is a viewsimilar to FIG; 3. showingthe modified form. of strike installed and showing how the adjusting step is performed with a screw driver or like tool.

vIn detail, and first with reference to FIGS. 14, the invention is adapted for use with a vertically extending door jamb l to which is secured a door stop'2 fa'gainst which the door 3 is abutted in closed position. The conventional door jamb structure usually also includes a casing strip 4 which is applied to cover the exposed edge of the door jamb. A hole 5 is bored in jamb 1 having a diameter slightly graeter than the maximum diameter of the strike and which hole breaks out through the edge 6 of the jamb 1.

The preferred form of strike is generally designated 7 and is formed to provide a planar face 8 to which is integrally secured a circumferentially extending flange 9 at right angles to said planar face. The width of flange 9 is substantially equal to the depth of hole 5 so that face 8 is coplanar with the face of jamb 1.

In the face 8 there is formed an aperture 11, one edge of which is defined by a diametrally extending edge 12 and the remainder of which is defined by a semicircular edge 13.

Integral with the front face 8 of the strike and bent generally at right angles thereto and extending along edge 12 is a generally rectangular tongue 15 which is adapted to engage the adjacent face 16 of the latch bolt when the latter is projected and the door is in closed position.

The strike 7 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is provided with a peripherally extending flange 9' which extends around the entire strike. However in the form of strike shown in FIGS. 1-4 a section of the flange 9 is removed as best seen in FIG. 1 so that only a relatively narrow portion 18 re mains adjacent the front face 8, this results in the formation of a notch 19 which, when the strike is installed is adapted to receive therein the adjacent edge of easing 4.

Between the narrow portion 18 of the peripheral flange 9 the strike is preferably formed to provide a slanted portion 21 over which the bevelled face of the associated latch bolt is adapted to slide as the door 3 is swung to closed position. The formation of the slanted face 21 is not essential to proper operation of the strike and the front face 8 of the strike may be planar throughout its entire circular extent.

Adjacent the opposite ends of the diametrally extending edge 12 the circumferentially extending flange 9 is deformed inwardly to provide a pair of securing lugs 23, 24. Formed in each of said lugs 23, 24 is an aperture 25 which is slightly elongated in a horizontal direction for a purpose to be described. Said apertures 25 are adapted to receive therethrough screws 26. As best seen in FIG. 4 the lugs 23, 24 are inclined relative to the planar face 8 of the strike so that the screws 26 may be conveniently inserted through the latch bolt aperture 11 and screwed into the wood of the jamb 1 at an angle such as that shown in FIG. 4. At this point it will be noted that the screws 26 not only enhance the resistance of the strike to being pulled away from the jamb by the rebound force of the closing door but they also effectively resist any forces tending to twist the strike outwardly of the plane of the jamb. Such latter forces may result from the accidental engagement of a person or apparatus under the outer narrow portion 18 of the strike flange.

Screws 26 are preferably provided with round heads so that as the same are driven to their final positions there is no tendency for the strike to twist in the bored hole 5 and thus orient the tongue 15 at an undesired angle relative to the front edge 6 of the jamb. Furthermore, by employing round headed screws and elongating the apertures 25 3 p in a horizontal direction as indicated it is possible to rotate the strike slightly in either direction so as to permit accurate adjustability of the position of the edge 12 before the screws 26 are driven to their final positions.

For the purpose of adjusting the angle of the tongue 15 relative to the front face 8 of the strike there is provided an elongated slot 30 in tongue 15. This slot 30 extends from a point adjacent the juncture between the flat face 8 of the strike and the tongue 15 inwardly of the tongue and. terminates at a point spaced from the free edge 31 of the tongue. In order to prevent undesirable local deformation of the juncture between the tongue 15 and the face 8 of the strike during the manufacturing step of bending said tongue to the position shown, it is desirable that the slot 30 extend into the juncture so that an opening 32 (FIG. 1) is formed in the flat face 8. However it will be understood that, although the end of the slot 30 should be adjacent the juncture between the tongue and the fiat face 8 it is not essential that it extend-past said juncture.

The use of the slot 30 is best seen in FIG. 6 of the modified form of the invention wherein a bit 34 of a screw driver or like tool is inserted through the slot 30 of strike 7. If it is desired to deflect the tongue 15 from its normal full line position to the dotted line position in FIG. 6 it .is merely necessary to force the outer end of the tool in the direction indicated in FIG. 6 to swing the tongue to the desired deformed position.

The manner in which the slot 30 is formed is extremely important to the step of adjusting the tongue. Heretofore in many types of adjustable strikes the torque required to effect the desired amount of bending of the tongue has usually been great enough to result in a localized deformation around the opening which is employed to receive the tool. This disadvantage is inherent in structures such as those shown in the above mentioned patents.

It will be seen that the invention provides an extremely effective inexpensive circular strike the installation of which requires the boring of only one hole. Furthermore, it will be apparent that effective securement of the strike to the jamb is assured and a simple means is provided for adjusting the strike to prevent rattling of the door.

The form of the invention shown in FIGS. 14 is adapted for use in connection with prefabricated door jambs in which the casing 4 may readily be applied so as to fit into the notch 19. The form of the invention shown in FIGS. 5, 6 lends itself to use with assemblies constructed at the building site in which cases the boring tool cuts into the casing as well as the jamb so as to permit the use of a strike with an uninterrupted per'pheral flangei The specific descriptions given above of the preferred forms of the invention is not to be taken as restrictive as it will be apparent that. various modifications in design may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the following claims. I

We claim: I

1. A strike for a door comprising:

a substantially circular strike plate provided with a flange on one side thereof andat right angles thereto and extending along at least one half the circumference of said plate,

said plate being provided with a latch bolt receiving opening formed with one straight side extending along a diameter of said plate and adapted to receive the cooperating face of a latch bolt thereagainst when such door is in closed position,

said flange being formed to provide a pair of apertures positioned adjacent the opposite ends respectively of said diameter for receiving a' pair of securing screws therethrough.

2. A strike according to claim 1 wherein said apertures are formed in lugs struck from said flange and projecting inwardly toward each other and at an angle to the plane of said plate.

3. A strike according to claim 2 wherein a tongue integral with said plate is provided along said straight side of said opening for engaging said face of said latch bolt.

4. A strike according to claim 2 wherein said apertures are elongated in a direction circumferentially of said flange to permit a slight rotation of the strike about its central axis for adjusting the position of said straight side.

5. A strike according to claim 1 wherein a portion of said flange outwardly of a chord parallel to said straight side is removed to form a notch and to permit a casing of the jamb on which said strike is installed to be received in said notch.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner;

E. J. MCCARTHY, Assistant Examiner. 

